International Lifetime Achievement Award by Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs, UK

First I must thank Nathan for his excellent choice of words in describing me. You have made me feel very good about myself!

I do want to thank you and Ruth for this kind gesture and for putting aside so much time to come to all the way to Kuala Lumpur to present me with this Award.

I feel flattered that IOEE has considered what I have been doing largely as a hobby worthy of this recognition. I do look forward to the ceremony we will have in London later this year.

Clearly an organisation like IOEE is very important in talent development as it focuses on helping people in developing entrepreneurial skills, and going beyond the ordinary.

To me entrepreneurship has never been just about business and making a profit. To me it should always be about making a difference in societal development. In my mind, business must make a direct contribution to building the community, and not just the economy.

Right here on this campus you will see a large number of incubators and accelerators. Some 200 young alumni supported by hundreds of students are actively engaged in enterprises we have created to help build and transform various sectors of industry. In social media and content creation right here we have some of the best talent in the world.

Here on this campus, we have created an ecosystem designed to instill in every student the understanding and connectivity of whatever disciplines they have taken up to the consumer, and to the global marketplace.

Research has shown that 70% of global business that will be at the top in the next 10 years will be companies that do not exist today.

This should give us an idea where creativity and innovation will take us, as we move into the future.

Ruth and Nathan this you must already know. It is estimated that the United Kingdom has the youngest average age for millionaires in the G8 countries and the third youngest in the G20 countries after only China and Russia.

And through you from the United Kingdom comes this recognition. I thank you for this very kind gesture.

Before I conclude may I announce that Nathan has been appointed a member of the University's Advisory Panel for Entrepreneurship. With this appointment, you now have a permanent home in Malaysia. Welcome to the team in KL.